SUNDAY: Stay tuned for Billy Horschel's winner's press conference.

All interviews will be streamed on PGATOUR.COM.

Tuesday, April 23
Guan Tianlang, 3 p.m. ET

Wednesday, April 24
Jason Dufner, 10 a.m. ET
Justin Rose, 3:30 p.m. ET
Bubba Watson, after pro-am

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The 77th Masters began a couple of hours ago, outlined against a gray April sky that is hanging heavy over Augusta National. Even heavier is the expectation for Tiger Woods to capture a fifth career Green Jacket.

Woods will tee off at 10:34 a.m. ET alongside Luke Donald and Scott Piercy. Here is a closer look at that group, and a couple of other notable ones this morning.

Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker, Ryo Ishikawa, 9:17 a.m.: As dominant as Sean Foley's prized pupil Woods has been this season, Rose hasn't been too shabby himself. In his three stroke-play starts on the PGA TOUR this year, he hasn't finished outside the top 8, which included a runner-up to Woods at Bay Hill. While he hasn't had a ton of success here -- just two career top 10s -- the one thing that's held Rose back, putting, has at times been very good this season. While Rose has momentum, Snedeker is just the opposite, having arrived here off two missed cuts following five weeks off due to a rib injury in February. Still, Snedeker's short game plays well here and he's contended before, in 2008 when he entered the final round two strokes off the lead before shooting a 77.

Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Steven Fox, 10:34 a.m.: Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods are the only ones to successfully defend here. That doesn't dissuade Watson, though. "As a competitor, as a believer in my game, yeah, I can see pulling it off," Watson said. "It wouldn't shock me. I would still cry, but it wouldn't shock me. The way I look at it, I'm going out there and I want to make the cut because first off, I don't want to have to sit around and give somebody the green jacket. I want to be here on Sunday, playing." Poulter, meanwhile, said earlier this week the Masters is his best chance at a major. Two of the last three years he's finished in the top 10, including in 2010 when he had a share of the lead at the halfway point.

Tiger Woods, Luke Donald, Scott Piercy, 10:45 a.m.: Woods hasn't won here since 2005, but he's been in contention several times since. Only once during that time has he finished outside the top 6 -- last year, when he had a career-low tie for 40th. He's won three times this year and comes into the week leading the TOUR in strokes gained-putting. Donald has had his chances here with three career top 10s. One of those came in 2011. Donald shot in the 60s in his last three rounds that year and was in contention on Sunday until Charl Schwartzel birdied the last four holes to win.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Justin Rose was a 17-year-old amateur when he made his major championship debut memorable by holing out on the 18th at Royal Birkdale to grab low amateur honors at the 1998 British Open.

The young Englishman so full of promise turned pro a day later, then embarked on what was basically a forgettable stretch of golf that saw him head to q-school three times before winning his inaugural European Tour event in 2002. A five-year drought followed and it was another three before the ex-pat, who now has a home in Orlando, won for the first time on the PGA TOUR.

But Rose, now 32, has certainly come into his own over the last three years, and he enters this week's Masters -- his 36th major -- among the favorites and ranked No. 3 in the world. He's consistent and confident, and Rose would like nothing better than to reap the rewards come Sunday.

"Expectations are very hard to deal with when you don't have the necessary skills to back it up," Rose recalled of his early days. "I think now that I have a lot of trust in my game and I feel like if I put myself in a situation with a chance to win, it's never easy but I feel like I have the tools at my disposal now to enjoy the occasion, and for it not to be overwhelming at least. I don't think that that necessarily makes it any easier, but I know I can do it. ... 

"I would say 2010 to this point, I feel like I've emerged from what I would say was a rocky kind of professional career, up and downs. I always had good years, bad years, but I feel like recently I've sort of got into a nice run of form. So I feel like it's a lot more sustainable. I have a good team of people around me to help."

among those on that team is swing coach Sean Foley, the same man world No. 1 Tiger Woods sought out to revamp his swing. Small wonder that Rose, who has four TOUR wins in the last three years -- including a World Golf Championships victory -- feels he is just hitting his prime.

"It was time to put into practice all of the things that I learned and often I've had to learn the hard way," Rose said. "So I felt between 30 and 40, if I could put into place all those years of experience, if you like, hopefully it will end up being a great career."

Rose has finished eighth or better in his last three PGA TOUR starts, including runner-up to Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.  He  has a solid record at the Masters, too, with two top-10s in seven appearances, including a tie for eighth last year, and he's owned the lead after three different rounds at Augusta National. 

"I've played some good rounds of golf, and when you've done that you have some confidence that you can do it again," acknowledged Rose, whose best chance to win probably came in 2007 when he trailed Zach Johnson by one stroke with two holes remaining. "It's all about putting it together and I think a lot of that does come with experience here. You've got to learn how to manage your emotions and the golf course, and then do them all at the same time."

A major championshp would also go a long way toward helping Rose realize another goal in his personal 10-year plan -- moving past Rory McIlroy and Woods to No. 1 in the world.

"Obviously the notion of being the best player in the world is exciting, and when you get as far as No. 3 in the world you want to entertain that," Rose said. "I'm under no illusions that's going to be difficult, but I have eight years of great golf ahead of me. It's a possibility in my career and something I'll be striving to achieve."

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ORLANDO, Fla. -- There was a bittersweet ending to Justin Rose's week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

Rose finished two strokes behind winner Tiger Woods on Monday after a 2-under 70 in the final round and afterward said he's still not getitng the most out of his game.

"I had a really kind of flat back nine of my third round and start to my fourth round; really sort of a 12 poor holes there," Rose said.

Rose began the final round at Bay Hill just two strokes behind Woods. Bogeys on two of his first three holes, however, pretty much ended any chance of catching him.

Right from the start, Rose was shaky.

He drove into a fairway bunker at the first hole, then came up short of the green on his approach and couldn't get up and down to save par.

Two holes later, Rose hit his tee shot into the water.

The rest of the round was bogey-free, but the damage was done. Four birdies over his final 13 holes wasn't enough with his last hopes disappearing when he missed a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 16th.

Still, it was Rose's best finish of a young season in which he's already recorded two other top 10s, givng himself three in four starts. He also moved to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking behind only Rory McIlroy and Woods.

"It was nice to be able to put (the slow start) behind me and finish strong," he said. "I take a lot of confidence once again from that."

Following a third-round 72, Justin Rose reflects on his play in the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard with Tom Werme from SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.

Following a second-round 70, Justin Rose reflects on his play in the 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard with Bill Rosinski from SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A year ago, Justin Rose ranked 128th in putting. This year, he's 127th -- but you wouldn't know it from how he putted Thursday at Bay Hill.

Rose had just 25 putts on his way to a 7-under 65 to take the early lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Among them, he went 17-for-17 on everything 15 feet and in.

"That's been the error of my game since June last year," Rose said. "Today was probably the first real hot day I've had with the blade in a long, long time."

Still, even Rose was surprised he shot 65, racking up six birdies, an eagle and one bogey on the day.

But it's clear the work he has put in with putting coach David Orr is paying off. It's all been about learning his tendancies and making sure he has the right flat stick in his hand.

Rose tried a new putter at the beginning of the year but switched back his TaylorMade 200 putter beginning the last two rounds at The Honda Classic and hasn't switched since.

The result? Rose tied for fourth at PGA National and a week later finished eighth at Doral.

That's not to say the rest of Rose's game wasn't sharp. Though he hit just seven fairways, most of his misses weren't off by much. Rose's coach, Sean Foley, also said Rose has hit it as good as he's ever seen him hit it the last few weeks.

He also hit 13 greens and gave himself plenty of looks at birdies with seven approach shots to 15 feet or closer and that has Rose feeling as good as anything.

"We all know it's about consistency and that's what I'm still working toward," he said. "It's just fun to know that I obviously can do it, and I take a lot of confidence from that."

Justin Rose has never played better at Bay Hill, as the Englishman zoomed to the top of the leaderboard with a 7-under 65 midway through Thursday's first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

In 30 previous career rounds at Bay Hill, his scoring average is 71.90, just about even par. Until Thursday, his lowest round as a 67 in the second round in the 2009 event. In fact, just five of his previous 30 rounds at Bay Hill had been in the 60s.

"Obviously, anytime you go low at Bay Hill, it's a bonus," Rose told SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio after his round."

After an early bogey, he was in control of his game Thursday, posting six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 16th.

Four of those birdies came in a four-hole stretch on his final nine holes as he separated himself from the rest of the field, including playing partner Tiger Woods, who shot a 3-under 69 in defense of his title.

"Not everything was perfect, I have to say, but the putter was really, really hot," Rose said.

Click here to replay Justin Rose's round on Shot Tracker

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

DORAL, Fla. -- A year ago, Justin Rose had a 16-round plan.

"I believed that if I just didn't look up for 16 rounds, something good was going to happen," Rose said Tuesday. "And that's exactly what did happen."

Though he'd played the two weeks prior, Rose's run began in earnest at The Honda Classic, continued down I-95 South to the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Trump Doral, across the state to Tampa and back to Orlando for a home game at Bay Hill.

Along the way, Rose won the WGC-Cadillac Championship and sandwiched it with a fifth-place finish at PGA National and a tie for 15th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

"I ran out of steam a little bit towards the end, but I feel like my game is in similar shape this year," said Rose, who is coming off a fourth-place finish at The Honda Classic.

Unlike last year, however, Rose has played just one other time this year on the PGA TOUR. That came at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he eliminated in the second round.

He's also putting in extra work with the putter, having hired David Orr in the middle of last year.

Orr has worked with a number of players on TOUR, including Charlie Wi, who has consistently ranked as one of the game's best with the flat stick.

"If the putter warms up just a little bit, which is what happened here last year, then I think chances are good for getting back into contention," Rose said.

But with the year's first major a little more than a month way, Rose is mindful not to wear himself out.

Last year, for example, he played late into December 2011 and started back up early in 2012.

"Just a little cautious of doing too much at this point," he said. "I didn't feel over‑golfed at this time last year but I just don't want that to be the case"

Justin Rose tees off on the difficult 18th hole in last season's final round at TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral.
(Cannon/Getty Images)

By Bill Cooney, PGATOUR.COM

First-time PGA TOUR winner Michael Thompson could be considered a surprise champion at The Honda Classic. But his statistics -- mainly the improvement he made at PGA National compared to 2012 -- are even more shocking.

Thompson improved in ranking more than 100 spots in two critical statistics when comparing 2012 to The Honda Classic. We'll take a look at that and dive into the teeth of TPC Blue Monster at Trump Doral -- site of this week's World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship -- by going inside the numbers. 

No. 10  The 508-yard 10th hole at PGA National played as the most difficult of the week at The Honda Classic. The average score on the 10th was 4.403, which is the most difficult hole on the PGA TOUR thus far in 2013. … An average of 4.403 would put the hole in the top 10 most-difficult on TOUR in most seasons. The 10th yielded just 15 birdies all week, three of which came on Sunday when it played the most difficult with a 4.680 average. Surprisingly, the highest single-round average came at the par-4 11th during Round 3 at 4.800.

12th  The secret to success for Justin Rose in winning last year’s WGC-Cadillac Championship? Do everything well. Rose ranked 12th in all-around at the event. … Rose ranked in the top 30 in arguably the six most important statistics on TOUR at the Cadillac. He was 28th in driving distance, T18 in driving accuracy, T17 in greens in regulation, 6th in scrambling, 29th in strokes gained-putting and T5 in proximity to the hole. That’s pretty solid.

No. 18  The 467-yard par-4 hole at TPC Blue Monster ranked as the second-most difficult hole on the PGA TOUR last season at 4.539. Only No. 6 at The Olympic Club ranked tougher (4.544), which was during the U.S. Open. … The 18th ranked 33rd in 2011 and 101st in 2010. The signature hole at Trump Doral features a large water hazard down the left-hand side and plenty of tree trouble and bunkers on the right. The wind plays a huge factor as well – par feels a lot like birdie against the wind.

48 of 72  Michael Thompson hit 48 of 72 greens in regulation in winning The Honda Classic, ranking T5 in the category on the week. … That doesn’t even sound very impressive. But consider GIR leader Peter Hanson hit 51 greens at difficult PGA National. Also consider how much of an improvement compared to the field it was for Thompson. For the 2012 season, he ranked 144th in GIR. He was also spot-on with this driving accuracy, ranking T9 at PGA National at 71.43 percent compared to 126th (59.43 percent) at year-end of 2012.

66.22 percent  Scrambling rate through four events for Lee Westwood. That ranks 21st on TOUR. … Why is this important? Well, consider Westwood finished 2012 ranked 191st (48.3 percent) in scrambling – one of the weaker aspects of his golf game. One of the reasons Westwood moved his family from England to South Florida in the offseason was to get his short game in better shape. So far, it appears to have helped.

68th  Tiger Woods’ all-around rank at The Honda Classic, where he finished T37. … There are plenty of positives when breaking down Woods’ stats from PGA National. He was T11 in greens in regulation, T3 in eagles per hole, T10 in driving distance and T3 in proximity to the hole. But Woods ranked T46 in birdie average – which is likely a result of his strokes gained-putting rank of 38th at .270, meaning he picked up only about one shot on the field average for the week via putting. Woods was also T47 in scrambling, making par or better from off the green only 13 of 25 times.

309.6  Driving distance for PGA TOUR leader Nicolas Colsaerts. … The Belgian bomber is certainly living up to his namesake. It will be interesting to see if Colsaerts can stay on top throughout the season. He had an average of 315.2 in a limited schedule in 2012. Furthermore, it will be equally as interesting to see where he ends up. It's doubtful he will challenge Hank Kuehne's all-time high average of 321.4 set in 2003. But considering the uneven weather so far on TOUR, there’s no telling what Colsaerts can do in the summer heat.

1,282  FedExCup points for leader Brandt Snedeker. … Snedeker, who is sitting out Cadillac due to a rib injury, is way ahead of the 2012 pace through this point. Last season, Kyle Stanley led the TOUR with 935 points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS ARCHIVE

Week 2: Sony Open/Humana Challenge

Week 3: Humana Challenge/Farmers Insurance Open

Week 4: Farmers Insurance Open/WM Phoenix Open

Week 5: WM Phoenix Open/AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

Week 6: AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am/Northern Trust Open

Week 7: Northern Trust Open/WGC-Accenture Match Play

Week 8: WGC-Accenture Match Play/The Honda Classic